With the recent release of Madden NFL 13, I decided to take a look at last year's game, Madden NFL 12. I have this on my Xbox 360 and my good ol' Playstation 2, but I think reviewing it for just Xbox is a smart idea because Madden stays the same pretty much every year on the PS2. First of all, I would like to say the Madden games on the Xbox have stunning graphics and Madden NFL 12 made the gameplay even better. For example, they removed the sprint button and added auto sprint, which I find a lot easier. But, if you would rather have the sprint button, you can add it in the options menu. Many great game modes (such as Madden Ultimate Team, NFL Superstar Mode, and Franchise Mode), many great additions to those game modes, and many things to do within those game modes, if that makes any sense. For example, having the ability to play with multiple players, either against your buddies or cooperatively, is a big plus for me. A lot of the time I'm playing Franchise mode, it's co-op with my little brother. This addition is not included in Madden 13, so that is an issue for me.

The realism is really where I want to focus for this game. You see, the realism in Madden NFL 12 is good in some aspects, and not so much in others. The graphics look great, and the hits look sweet, but when you look at a player who has long hair, like Clay Matthews, it looks like they have a big colored rag on the player's head. They need to do something else with the hair, and I hope they did in the new Madden. There are many other aspects in this game that are quite unrealistic, such as the things that happen before and after the game, when the players get ready for the coin toss and after when they all shake hands, the same thing happens EVERY SINGLE GAME. They could at least make a couple different ones that occur randomnly every game. Also, when a player makes a touchdown, it often shows him on the bench after the play and the players congratulate him. When this happens, the same players are all sitting in the exact same spots on the bench and the same thing happens every time. It gets pretty old, and it just doesn't feel real. The commentary says the same things in the same situations a lot. Another issue is when a player makes a catch, and it's kind of close but still obvious, they make it all dramatic and the players make signals for what they think the call should be and the ref comes and makes the call. This is cool, but it happens WAY too often. They need to cut down on that dramatically, but not take it out. Those are just a few minor things that I hope are fixed in Madden 13.

The game modes are great in this game, though I believe there could be a few more. I'll start off by talking about Franchise Mode. Franchise Mode in Madden 12 was changed up a bit, and many new features were added. This is the best Franchise I have ever played in my life. During the season, you play games, manage your team, and scout players entering next years draft, using the new Rookie Scouting feature. In the Rookie Scouting feature, you look at players entering next years draft, and you pick players to scout. Scouting players unlocks player ratings, and you can choose to scout some players further and unlock more ratings. If you win the Super Bowl, the celebration is awesomely realistic. It shows the players and coaches hoisting the Lombardi Trophy alongside NFL commisiner Roger Goodell. It shows the players riding down the street with the Lombardi, fans everywhere. And, my favorite part, it shows the players meeting President Obama and shaking hands with him in front of the White House. Then in the offseason, you go through many different steps rebuilding your team for the next season. You can even pick to move your team to places all over such as Los Angeles, Montreal, Mexico City and tons more, build your new stadium, change your team name, logo and uniforms if you want. You can also choose to change teams and pick to be a new team the next season. If I was the Seattle Seahawks my first season, after that season I could switch to the Cincinnati Bengals, or anybody for that matter. Other steps include player re-signing, free agent bidding, induvidual workouts and the NFL Draft. It's awesome. Almost perfect. ALMOST perfect. But whats keeping Franchise Mode on the Xbox from perfection? Put the Training Camp in it like there is on other consoles, where you pick a quarterback to improve their stats by doing a QB drill, and you choose a kicker to train with and make their stats go up by doing a field goal drill. That was fun, and it's not on the 360. Other than that, it's amazing.

Superstar mode is pretty good. It doesn't look like they've made tons of improvements from Madden 11. Honestly, I prefer the PS2 Superstar mode over the 360. I don't know what it is, because both the graphics and gameplay are waaaaaaayyy better on the Xbox 360, but it just seems funner on the PS2. You get to do fun stuff off the football field on the PS2, like get interviewed and act in movies. On the Xbox, it's all football and that can get boring. I'd add in the interviews and stuff on the Xbox if I were EA Sports. Other than that, I wouldn't change much.

Madden Moments. I love Madden Moments. Everytime I see a close game, or a 4th quarter comeback, I say "that'll be a Madden Moment." Just the realism in the Madden Moments is unreal. This is probably because Madden loads the rosters from the day that moment went down in real life so it's everything you saw on gameday. If you're going to do anything to the Madden Moments, add more! I'd have to say, this is my favorite feature/game mode in Madden 12. Love them, keep 'em comin'!

Madden Ultimate Team is probably the most popular game mode on the Xbox 360, so it's good they added plenty of new features into MUT, such as legends and trades. I don't know if it has anything to do with the game, but playing Madden Ultimate Team online is often slow and full of lagging. I like how you can buy different types of card packs, such as Offseason Packs, Gold Packs, and Legend Packs. This is a great and fun game mode, keep it, and don't change it too much.

When it comes to rosters, they are 100% accurate. During the 2011-12 season they would update it, but now it just has the rosters from the end of last season. Authentic and realistic, players look as they do on TV and so do the stadiums. Madden is the best NFL football franchise ever, no questions asked. If anyone wants to try and beat them, I have two words for you; good luck.